A Hero Emerges
by MysticalWeb
Summary: After Neji saves Sakura from a brute, she starts noticing him and unless she's wrong, he likes her too. Is Sakura right? Is Neji the one for her? Or is this all a big mistake? Is Sakura doomed for heartbreak…again? Or will she find happiness with Neji?
1. Chapter 1

The silence of the forest brought a frown upon Sakura's face

The silence of the forest brought a frown upon Sakura's face. Rubbing her eyes wearily she looked around in search of the injured being she had been sent here to help.

"Hello? Anyone there? I'm from Konoha Hospital, I'm here to help!" Sakura called out tiredly.

It had been a hectic few days at the hospital. A foolish chunin had freaked out in the middle of a mission, placing him and the rest of his team under danger. His team had returned barely alive, suffering from severe wounds that took hours to heal. Only two had managed to survive.

The situation didn't get any better with injured ninjas pouring in by the handful. Sakura found herself doing surgery after surgery as Tsunade and Shizune were away at a meeting. Doctors and nurses were forced to work overtime, pulling double and triple shifts to keep up with the rate that patients were coming in.

The situation finally began to slow during the night, but Sakura found herself staying overnight at the hospital, working all night with only 3 hours of sleep. She had been ready to take some down time when the call came in.

Suddenly, Sakura heard a noise behind her. She turned quickly but her movements were slowed by her lethargic state. She stifled a scream when a pair of arms snaked around her upper body, sufficiently trapping her arms, rendering them useless.

Sakura was about to kick out with legs, causing serious injury onto her attacker when she felt her legs disappear beneath her. Sakura winced in pain as she landed hard on her back on the ground. Her arms and legs were quickly held down by two pairs of hands and, despite her struggles, Sakura was unable to free herself.

"Help!" she shouted helplessly.

'It's no use, there's no one around here for miles. No one's going to hear me.' She thought, panic rising.

"Heh! What's a pretty little thing like you playing ninja for? Why don't we have some fun?" the bald, fat man said. "Ha! This should be good" The other man said, licking his lips in anticipation.

"No!" Sakura said, struggling with all her might but it was pointless, even her inhuman strength couldn't save her now, not with the two men pinning her arms and legs down.

"Nooo!" Sakura shouted again as the pig's hands reached for her clothes.

With adrenaline rushing through her veins, Sakura began to struggle in earnest once again, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill. Fear filled her mind, clouding her thoughts, filling her with despair.

Giving up, it seems so easy, to just lie there and allow the inevitable to occur.

She felt as he placed his hands on her, felt as he squeezed her breasts so hard that she wouldn't stop the small sound of pain escaping her lips. She watched as his smile widened, saw the evil gleam in his eyes and the sharp point of his yellowed teeth. He enjoyed hurting her, enjoyed seeing her squirm in pain underneath him, helplessly to fight back.

She knew what he was going to do, yet couldn't bring herself to stop him. She was too tired, too weak to fight anymore. She wanted nothing more than to simply close her eyes and sleep/

Giving in, she allowed her eyelashes to slowly flutter close, bitter sadness filling her heart as the fight faded away from her.

'_Sakura!'_

Sakura eyes burst wide open. 'No! I can't give up! I can't admit defeat! Not now, not ever!'

Giving up was not an option. She was a ninja, one of the strongest kunoichi of Konoha. She couldn't give up here, especially not to the likes of these two. When she does fall, and she didn't plan to, it would be to strong formidable opponents, someone worthy to lose to.

Rippp!' The sound of the front of her white uniform being ripped echoed throughout the forest. With anew energy Sakura began to fight, bucking and trashing her body from side to side. But her movements were to no avail, he was simply too heavy for her current state, she couldn't move him.

As the helplessly sunk in, she began to plead, "Please! Don't."

"Now, now. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me, when this is over you'll be begging for more." The man sneered, licking his lips as he stared at the fine upper body of the pink haired kunoichi.

The tears she had fought so hard against spilled, leaving silvery trails down her face. This was it. She was going to lose her virginity to a rapist. After years of saving herself for someone special she was going to lose it to a stranger. Regret weighed down her shoulders, 'I wish I had just slept with someone before. Why was I so stupid to think that it matters?'

Tears fell faster from her eyes as she felt the other man's hand inch up her leg. Waves of despair, each stronger than the one before, washed over her, sinking her heart to the bottom of her tear filled mind. Shutting her eyes tightly, Sakura refused to watch as her body was defiled.

A cry of pain that was not her own caught her attention, causing her eyes to flicker open. Light assaulted her eyes, fighting back the darkness that had fell on her. She felt as the weight of the men were lifted off her, felt the slight tingle in her limbs as her blood began to circulate freely once more. As her eyes adjusted, she looked up, expecting to see Sasuke and Naruto there. Her eyes widened in surprise as she found that her saviour was the cool and impassive Neji Hyuuga.

Tossing the men aside easily, Neji crouched down.

'"Are you alright Sakura?"

"Y…yes" She whispered hoarsely, wiping away the tears that blurred her vision.

Satisfied that she was indeed alright, Neji turned to stare at her attackers.

They had composed themselves, standing and returning his gaze. Sakura watched as beads of sweat appeared on their forehead. They soon broke away from Neji's intense stare, fumbling slightly before speaking.

"Ha! What's a pipsqueak like you doing here? Trying to save your little girlfriend?" The fat one sneered.

"I can't believe he actually thinks he can defeat us! Don't make us laugh!" the other added, the effect however, was ruined by the slight waver in his voice.

"I don't think. I know." Neji stated calmly.

"Byakugan!"

The men never knew what was coming; their untrained eyes could not track Neji as he raced towards them. The appearance of Neji in front of them a few short seconds later caused their eyes to bug and jaws to drop.

"How? You wer-"

But his words were never finished as Neji sent a fist into his face. The fat guy armed himself, getting ready for Neji's attack that would soon come. He watched carefully as Neji's figure turned and ran to him.

"Ha! Too easy!" he claimed as he braced himself.

To his surprise, Neji disappeared.

"Hey! What?? He asked, looking around to locate his opponent.

"What's the matter? Am I too fast for you?" Neji said with a slight sneer before he launched his merciless assault. It wasn't long before the man began squirming on the ground in pain, begging for mercy.

"Mercy? A brute like you is asking me for mercy? Tell me, would you have let Sakura go if she had begged for mercy?" Neji said coldly, disgusted by the man's cowardly behaviour.

"Forgive me!" the man said before he began to coughing up blood.

Pale eyes cold, Neji bend down, ready to execute the final blow.

"Stop!"

Neji paused at the sound of Sakura's weak voice.

"Don't. Don't kill him"  
"What? After all the things this creep has done to you, you would still spare his life? Even knowing that he wouldn't have spared you?" Neji asked, astounded by the kindness of the pink haired female.

"It doesn't matter what he has or would have done. I can't allow you to kill him. He needs medical attention and it is my job as a medic nin to attend to his medical needs." Sakura said, rising to her feet.

"Thank you for saving me, I can take care of it from here." She said as she focused her chakra, hands glowing green as she stopped to bleeding and damage caused by Neji' s attack.

"It seems like you're friend has left you." She said to the helpless man who had readily attacked her before.

"When she was satisfied that the man's body would be able to heal the rest of the injuries by itself in a few hours, Sakura stopped. "

There, you should be fine now. You will be weak for a couple of days but with a bit of rest, you should recover nicely."

Filled with gratitude the man thanked Sakura deeply, truly regretful of what he had done.

"Thank you so much! I'm apologies for my actions. I have no excuse but I promise you that l will never force myself on another person again." With that said, he staggering away slowly.

Sakura watched his departure, a thoughtful look on her face. Ready to return to the hospital she stood and turned, and bumped into Neji.

"Ow" she said quietly, rubbing her nose.

"Why are you still here?" she asked him, she had expected him to be long gone already.

"Why?" he asked her, ignoring her question. His face was emotionless as usual.

"Why what?" she answered, pretending not to know. She didn't want to answer him, she knew that her answer wasn't great.

"Sakura" he low voice warned.

"I don't know" she answered truthfully, there was no specific reason behind her actions. She did what she had to, did what she felt was right. Perhaps it was because he had been abandoned, just like she had or maybe she just didn't want yet another person to die. But whatever the reason, Sakura had no regrets about her decisions.

"He'll never assault another female again" Sakura said softly to herself, unaware that Neji could hear her.

"What makes you think that? People don't change easily you know. In order to truly change, one must work hard and want to change. And even then, change is difficult. What makes you think that a person so weak has the ability to change? Don't you think that he'll just go back to his old tricks again once he recovers? People don't change easily, some people don't change at all."

Unwilling to explain the emotions she had felt when the man had thanked her, or what she had seen in his eyes, Sakura simply whispered, "I just know."

Walking around Neji, Sakura continued back to the hospital, eager to leave Neji behind. Unfortunately for her, Neji had no intention of being left behind.

"What were you doing out here alone anyway?" He asked in curiousity.

"We received a call for help from someone pleading to someone to come here and help his friend who got brutally attacked. I was the only one available so I took the call." Sakura said wearily.

"Wouldn't it have been obvious? I mean, why would someone attack his friend but not him? And why couldn't someone else come with you?" Neji said, frustrated.

His frustration only caused him to become more frustrated.

'Why am I so infuriated? Why am I so worried about a pink haired female that I barely even know? What is wrong with me?!' Neji thought, he was irritated, irritated at the pink haired shinobi standing in front of him that had evoked these emotions.

'I'm too tired for this!' Sakura thought, 'Why does he have to be so annoying? Can't he just go back to the impassive person he was? Why does he care?'

Sakura's fury was clear as she turned and shouted at Neji.

"Why do you care?! If you're just going to stand there and insult me, I'm going! I'm not in the mood for this!" Walking away once more, she was picturing her bed when her vision began to blur. The world spun as she found herself falling…..

…..right into the arms of Neji who had moved to accommodate her fall.

"Um…thanks" Sakura mumbled shyly as her cheeks heated in embarrassment. Neji frowned slightly at her ashen face and wide, unfocused, emerald green eyes.

"When was the last time you ate something?" he asked her, the order in his tone unmistakeable. Sakura flinched, knowing fully well what was going to happen.

"This morning…I think…"

"Yo-" Neji said before Sakura interrupted him.

"I was about to grab some lunch when the call came in!" she argued in her defence, knowing that he thought she was irresponsible and reckless.

Neji stared down at her, a look of incredulity on his face. He cocked an eyebrow at her. Though she felt like squirming under his intense gaze, Sakura held still, unwilling to allow him to have the small pleasure of victory.

"If you would just let me down, I'll be able to go and find some food." She told him pointedly, staring back at him. "I'm sure it not polite to hold someone against their will." Sakura immediately winced at her words when Neji stiffened, his face becoming even more emotionless.

Silently he set her down. "Thank you…sorry about what I said…" she mumbled guiltily. Feeling uneasy at his silence, Sakura turned and walked away, swaying slightly. She pressed a hand to her temple, in an attempt to ease her throbbing headache. Before she could do anything about it, however, she found herself in a pair of strong arms, held against a warm hard chest.

Sakura tilted her head upwards to stare at the one that had so rudely swept her off her feet.

"I'll take you home" Neji said in a quiet commanding tone that made Sakura understand why so many people respected and obeyed him.

"I ca-"

"You can barely walk! Is it such a torture for you, to be taken home by me?" Neji all but shouted at her. A look of frustration flashed on his face before it was covered up by his impassive façade once more.

For once Sakura was quiet. She was stared at Neji in shock, surprised at his burst of emotion.

'He's always so emotionless, so…cold and indifferent… I guess no one really knows him…' she thought sadly. She too had never thought of him the same as others, his lack of emotions on his demeanour caused her to believe him to be different from humans and for that she was sorry.

'How could I be so stupid?' she thought as daggers of guilt stabbed into her heart.

Determination flashed into Sakura's eyes, 'I'm going to break through the brick wall he's built and find the real him!'

If Neji wasn't so intent on his mission to get her home safely, he would have noticed the sudden glint in her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Neji stared at the sleeping kunoichi in his arms. She had given in to her tiredness halfway through the trip, slipping into a deep sleep.

'How can she do that? Fall asleep in another person's arms when she doesn't even know that person very well. She's either very stupid or very trusting and since I know she's not stupid she must be the latter. She's a shinobi for goodness sake! She should be less trusting than this! Constantly on guard! If she was she wouldn't have to go through what happened this afternoon. Why was she so tired anyway?' Neji pondered.

* * *

"Sakura, wake up! Sakura!" a voice said gently, rousing Sakura from her slumber. "Mmm….Just a little longer." She mumbled, unwilling to wake up.

"Sakura! Wake up!" the voice commanded, no longer gentle.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, blinking to adjust to the harsh light. She looked up, confusion deepening when she saw the ANBU leader.

"Neji? What are you doing here? Where is here anyway?" she added as she looked around, taking in her surroundings.

Neji cleared his throat which had dried at her sleepy confused expression.

"You were at the forest remember? I saved you and brought you home"

Sakura's confusion cleared as images flashed through her head.

"Um Sakura? The door?"

Sakura blinked to clear hear mind. "Oh right. You can put me down now, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me back there. And for taking me home."

Pulling out her keys, Sakura unlocked her door, surprised when Neji followed her in.

"I'm sure you're fine but I have a few questions that I would appreciate being answered."

"Look, I'm really tired and am not in the mood right now. All I want to do is sleep so that's what I'm going to do. I'll answer your questions another time, I don't care what you do, just be sure to lock the door on your way out."

Neji raised a perfect brow as the pink haired shinobi turned and walked to where he expected was her bedroom. Left alone to his own devices, Neji began to look around Sakura's small but charming apartment, satisfying his curiosity. The corner of his lips lifted slightly as he caught sight of the pictures that graced her rooms. They were all of her and her friends, with Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune and Ino appearing in most.

She was smiling genuinely in all the photos, frozen in a captured moment of happiness.

_Guess that answers my question. She's naturally trusting. _

Neji found himself wanting to learn more about the strangely trusting kunoichi; he wanted to know why she was so trusting wanted to understand what made her this way.

_It's strange how we've lived in the same village for so many years but there are so many things we don't know about each other._

Venturing to her bookshelf, Neji found himself intrigued at the large variety of books she had. He had thought that the loving kunoichi would read generally romance, but her bookshelf begs to differ, holding instead mysteries and medical books.

_Guess I'm more wrong about her than I thought. _Neji mused, his lips twisted slightly.

A piercing scream snapped Neji out of his thoughts.

_Sakura?_

Another scream filled the air and he finds himself running to her room. Arming himself with a kunai he burst into her room, blinking in confusion when he found it to be empty of any enemies.

Sakura was curled up in the middle of her bed, amidst tangled blankets.

"Get away! No please! Get away! Don't!" Sakura shrieked, tossing side to side as if held down.

_A nightmare._

Neji quickly crossed the room, relieved that it was just a nightmare that was causing her grieve. He felt his heart slow as he shook her awake gently.

"Sakura?

She only moan in pain, struggling in his arms as he attempted to keep her still.  
"Sakura? Wake up! It's only a nightmare!" he said loudly, shaking her more vigorously.

The tendrils of the nightmare began to fade and slowly, Sakura begin to rouse from her slumber.

"Neji?" she mumbled in confusion, eyes wide in fear.

For a moment he remained silent, too dazzled by her large jade green eyes, wet with unshed tears.

"It's okay now. It was only a nightmare." He finally answered.

'Only a nightmare'

Sakura slowly nodded, understanding the situation.

"Was it... was it of this afternoon?" Neji asked softly, hesitating slightly.

Once more Sakura bobbed her head, leaning slightly forward to allow her short hair to fall into her face.

"It's okay. You can cry in front of me. I won't tell. I promise"

And that was all it took to reduce the kunoichi into a shuddering bundle, crying in his arms.

Neji patted her hair awkwardly, attempting to soothe her. He hadn't had much practice at this. Tenten had been the only female in his team and he had never seen her shed a tear. He was unsure of what to do in situations such as this but knew it was definitely what he was thinking of doing.

_She looks so beautiful when she cries. Those jade green eyes and pouty lips that are just begging to be kissed. _

"I'm sorry to cry on you like this" Sakura said softly, voice muffled by his shirt.

"It's alright. I don't mind."

_Who would mind holding someone as beautiful as you while you cried?_

Neji shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts.

_Stop it Neji! She's traumatised here._

"I'm okay now Neji. You can go."

"Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I'm not ready for that yet. I just want to sleep for now. Please let yourself out. Thank you." She whispered.

Neji stood awkwardly, unsure once again of what to do. She clearly wanted him gone and it was good manners to leave when the host ask you to but she clearly cant be left alone like this. She needed someone to be here.

"I don't want to leave you alone" he said honestly "Do you want me to get someone here for you? Ino perhaps?"

"Oh god no. Really, I'm fine. Thanks for your concern but I really just need to be alone right now."

Neji hesitated. "Alright" he finally agreed.

"Thank you"

Neji let himself out the door, looking back with uncertainty.

_At times like this I wish I was Lee. He would know what to do in situations such as this_

Neji shook his head _Did I just say I want to be like Lee? I must be going out of my mind! _He thought as he pictured the green jumpsuit wearing shinobi.

Smiling slightly to himself Neji set off to the Hokage Tower to fill in his mission report. He tried to keep his mind on light topics but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't quite get the image of Sakura's face out of his mind…

* * *

Well that's the end of the chapter everyone. Sorry it's so much shorter than the first but I thought it was time to post something for all my readers. Once again I apologise for my lack of updates. Lack of time as well as ideas has stopped me from writing and for that I'm sorry.

Don't ask me what will be happening next chapter as I myself do not know. I hope to post another chapter soon but I know that is unlikely.

Your comments brought me joy and inspired me to continue writing. There were times where I considered deleting this fanfic, to keep the ending to myself. So thanks to all those who reviewed, I deeply appreciated it. As always reviews are loved. Feel free to tell me any of your thoughts and ideas, god knows I don't have any!

_-MysticalWeb_


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